HAVERFORD STUDENTS WORK FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE THROUGHOUT WORLD

In all corners of the world, Haverford students will work for social justice organizations as they serve 10-week internships under the auspices of the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship. Last year, the Center’s interns examined the AIDS epidemic in South Africa, researched gambling addictions in Nevada, fought segregation in Bulgaria, and sought peaceful resolutions to the India-Pakistan conflict. This year, students will fight disease and poverty, raise awareness of social and political issues, and help the healing of war-torn regions in their geographically diverse assignments.

Bibhav Acharya ‘06 will travel to Nepal and assist free educational programs run by the Society for Educational and Developmental Activities (SEDA), which raises awareness of issues such as sanitation, hygiene, and STDs. Additionally, Acharya will collect information on the status of health and sanitation in various parts of Western Nepal and will travel with a team of SEDA members, doctors, and health workers to six villages across the region, where they will organize free health clinics.

The African Australian Welfare Council (AAWC) will welcome Samantha Arens ‘05 to help them and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) coordinate with governmental agencies in responding to the needs of migrants, immigrants and refugees from the Horn of Africa living in Melbourne, Australia. Arens will also investigate gaps in the delivery of tertiary education to the Horn of Africa community.

Laura Byrne ‘06 will head to Guatemala to help Common Hope, a nonprofit that provides educational programs, family counseling, and health care for Mayan citizens, and allows American groups to travel to different sites and experience poverty firsthand. Byrne will assess these “Vision Teams,” observing the interaction of the Mayan and American cultures and devising ways to increase action and awareness among Common Hope participants.

In Jogjakarta, Indonesia, Colin Cahill ‘07 will work with Apotik Komik, a group of public artists who specialize in colorful, politically motivated art, and who visited Haverford in October 2003 to help create a mural for the future Center for Peace and Global Citizenship Café. In addition to painting, Cahill will interview members of Apotik Komik and other local artists, activists, and community members to get their views on the country’s political situation, as the current president bids for re-election in July.

Bethany Drybala ‘05 will work at the Ebenezer Orphanage in Zambia, Africa; this Christian orphanage was founded by Family Worship Centre in response to the HIV/AIDS orphan pandemic in the city of Lusaka. Drybala will research the responses of both secular and religious NGOs to the orphan problem, and will travel to other orphanages, charities, foundations, and NGOs to observe and interview the children and develop a sense of religion’s role in their lives.

Andy Greenberg ‘04 will work with the International Fund for China’s Environment (IFCE), an environmental conservation organization based in Beijing and Washington, D.C. In both cities, he will assist IFCE in establishing formal relationships with environmental business programs, recruit companies to join the organization, encourage a delegation to participate in upcoming events in both China and the United States, and consult with international team members in both countries to develop strategies for IFCE’s new programs.

Kira Intrator ‘05 will be affiliated with Inca Pallay in Sucre, Bolivia. This organization is a local trade cooperative that supports indigenous women’s art from the Quechua ethnic groups of Jalqu’a and Tarabuco. Intrator will compare the quality of various Inca Pallay shops and conduct interviews with women weavers, researching such topics as economic gains and family situations.

Katrina Julian ‘04 is heading to the African country of Burundi to assist both the Friends Women’s Association (FWA) and the African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI); these organizations work with refugees to help their healing processes and promote peace in this war-torn area. Julian will offer support and counsel to women through FWA’s HIV/AIDS education program, and will build homes for returning refugees alongside the country’s Hutu and Tutsi people as part of AGLI’s plan to further peace in the region.

Matthew Kearney ‘05 will serve his internship in Senegal with the Center of Resources for the Emergence of Social Participation (CRESP), whose mission is to incorporate African village wisdom into a global ecological reconstruction program by training residents of eco-villages. Kearney will travel through all 20 eco-villages in Senegal and reside in one village as he studies the relationship of the Layenne Sufi Brotherhood (a type of Sufism particularly devoted to Jesus) to the social organization and political administration of the community.

Ross Lerner ‘06 will assist two projects by scholars and researchers at the Institute for Social Research in Hamburg, Germany, both seeking to answer questions about the ways in which Germans—even those not born during the Holocaust—deal with and represent their historical inheritance. One project, run by the International Study Group for Trauma, Violence and Genocide, explores the transmission of trauma in the children of victims and perpetrators. The second studies the resurgence of classic resentments and prejudices throughout Europe.

In Mali, Rebecca Levy ‘04 will work with CARE, one of the largest independent humanitarian organizations in the world. She will be involved with the “Communal Support Project for Koro and Bankass” (PACKOB) in Mali, a governance project through which CARE offers institutional, financial, and technical support to community-level actors, helping them become more effective at responding to the needs of the local population. Levy will also conduct research on the role of women in the commune-level political sphere.

DiJon Lindsey ‘04 will work for the Forum for African Women Educationalist (FAWE) in Freetown, Sierra Leone; the organization strives to implement more educational opportunities for women on political and social levels. Lindsey will aid medical doctors and assist with child care at a FAWE vocational center. She will also conduct research at the Nation Secretariat Unit, gathering data from surveys filled out by young men and women throughout Sierra Leone.

Leah Min ‘05 will study and promote ecologically sound community development in rural Germany. By visiting and working in three communities dedicated to environmentally conscious lifestyles, she hopes to gain skills in environmental architectural design, sustainable building techniques, and cooperative living.

In Cuba, Marin O’Brien ‘05 will work with the director of International Relations at Casa Memorial Salvador Allende (CMSA). She will help the organization develop and maintain contact with American visitors, encouraging them to use CMSA’s resources and attend community events. She’ll also conduct academic research on the effect of Cuban politics on CMSA’s endeavors. O’Brien hopes to begin a “Spanish Language Buddies” program that will connect Haverford students with their Cuban counterparts.

Brooke Phan ‘05 will work with Bui Quang Dung, a sociologist and senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology in Hanoi, Vietnam, traveling with Dung and his researchers as they examine the nature of conflict, conflict resolution, and mediation among rural populations. Phan will also aid the Mennonite Christian Committee’s Vietnam Peace Program in its mission to sustain peace between the Kinh majority and other ethnic groups, and will be trained as a conflict mediator.

Vickie Remoe-Doherty ‘06 will work for the Forum for Democratic Initiative (FODI) in Freetown, Sierra Leone, helping citizens understand democracy as a tool for daily living through education and information. Remoe-Doherty will also collect personal war experiences from refugees for Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and will assist FODI in determining the best ways to invest money raised by the Haverford community.

Alexandra Smith ‘07 and Brianna Taylor ‘07 will participate in an interactive photography project in Guatemala, meant to generate dialogue and intergenerational education among children and widows and help them reconcile their violent past as they relay their feelings and experiences through art. The two students will also aid the leader of Federacíon de Pueblos Mayas (FEDEPMA) in developing a youth program for children.

Jing Jing Wang ‘05 will spend her internship in China, studying the integration of Chinese and Western medicines from a scientific and anthropologic point of view. As an intern at the Medical Center of Fudan University: Children’s Hospital, Wang will shadow cardiologist Jia Bing, observe the practice of traditional Chinese medicine, listen to dialogues between alternative and mainstream doctors, and explore the role of the government in the organization of the country’s health care system.

In South Africa, Brendan Wattenberg ‘06 will help the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), a non-governmental HIV/AIDS organization that struggles to deliver antiretroviral (ARV) medicine programs in impoverished communities. He will study the progress, challenges, and issues involved in implementing public ARV clinics for AIDS patients throughout the country, and will assist a TAC member with a documentary project as well as develop his own photo and video series on clinic patients.